#-1: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -2). I'm still resisting raising them above -1 because I don't think they're going to win the College World Series or anything, and I want to see if they can go on the road and win at Illinois. But a 5-0 week (all in Minneapolis, including a sweep of Northwestern) is very good news, as is appearing in the back end of both college baseball polls. Center fielder Matt Nohelty is one of 10 finalists for an award honoring an exceptional senior. Overall, good times. Oh yeah, they visit North Dakota State mid-week next week.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -3). I'm cheating; I will try to post these surveys on Thursday, but it could be early Thursday/late night Wednesday or as late as Thursday evening. With the potential for Twins matinees then, I might fudge on how many games the team will play the upcoming week. Anyway: They go 2-4 since the last survey. Not good for a team that I predict will show it had overachieved last year. Joe Mauer, for all his injuries and ailments, not to mention his lack of power, is very, very missed in the offense. And it looks like we've found our scapegoat for now -- the very shaky Luis Ayala. He was a Bastard Expo, wasn't he? The most worrisome person, IMO, is Kevin Slowey. All the statheads think he's going to take it to the next level, yet he got rocked on Monday. And tonight, unreliable stud ace Francisco Liriano takes to the mound against quite reliable stud ace Roy Halladay. They host three against the Anaheim Angels Of Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim Angels Of before doing their annual weirdo early-season twofer; this year it's at Boston.
#-3: Swarm (Last Week: -4). A devastating 19-14 home loss at the X to Portland takes away control of their own destiny. They now lose the tiebreaker with Colorado, with whom they are tied, and not only do they have to win against New York Saturday night, they have to hope the Mammoth lose at Edmonton later that evening. Intriguing: If the Swarm lose, that Colorado-Rush game is for the playoff spot. Also intriguing: The Titans get to host their first playoff game if they also beat the Swarm. As for analysis -- what can you really say when a team can get into the playoffs with a 7-9 record?
#-Infinity (tie): Timberwolves and Wild (Last Week: -1 and -6, respectively). And finally these two old dogs are put down. The NBA and NHL regular seasons are already too long, but it gets absolutely excruciating, even unbearable, once you realize your team has no chance.
And even if all the rosy scenarios painted for the Wild, you knew (at least I knew) they weren't going to make it. Even with their finishing kick, their swoon from Dec. 5 to Dec. 17, when they lost six in a row, destroyed them. Marian Gaborik wasn't even in skates for a quarter of the season, and yet when he stepped onto the ice, he was the best offensive player the Wild had; what does that say about the team? And finally, Jacques Lemaire said, in coded terms, the players had tuned him out and need to be yelled at by someone different. I understand that coaches have a shelf life, but finding a new coach is venturing out into the unknown. It is absolutely necessary sometimes, but it's also incredibly unfair. We lost one of the greatest hockey coaches ever, even if he has to take responsibility for the franchise's fortunes over the last eight years, so who's good enough to replace him?
And yet Wild fans have been too easy on their beloved franchise. Maybe it's because of guilt over getting the North Stars stolen from them, but I don't think any "fan" wants to pipe up about the direction this team is going, doesn't want to start pissing and moaning over General Manager Doug Risebrough, because they don't want to lose another team. Hey, get it through your heads: This team isn't going anywhere because Norm Green took advantage of our naivete and now we know better. And it's not your fault. So stop giving this new franchise latitude that they have demonstrated they don't deserve. Start demanding the outright demolition of this club that is long overdue.
... And just as I am about to complete the survey, I turn on "The Common Man Progrum" on KFAN and here something that goes a long way towards that long-overdue demolition: GM Risebrough has just been shitcanned! Nice guy, don't have anything too personal against him, but this was the right move!
As for the Wolves ... whatever. The last game last night, when they were hosting the worst team in the NBA, the Sacramento Kings, and lost, brings our regard for this team full circle back when we were absolutely dreading the beginning of the season. They finished with another winless week (0-3). And I didn't see Kevin McHale shake opposing Coach Kenny Natt's hand at the end of the game. If you didn't -- classy, McFail. Goddamn, if you hate the shit you need to do to be a coach in the league, just fuckin' quit. Then Glen Taylor can rub his hands malevolently and say his plan worked. First good plan that would've worked for the Woofie Dogs in a long time.
Here's what I think should be done. They are several steps behind the Wild -- they can't be blown up because they've already been blown up. And yet a shaky nucleus of Jefferson, Foye, Love and maybe Gomes and Miller could be worth something. Add in Telfair, a returning Brewer, and even bench players Carney and Cardinal, and maybe I'll let myself remember the 10-4 January they had and extrapolate it over the whole season. But this draft may be the worst in recent memory. Honestly, if they don't land the #1 pick (for Blake Griffin), and maybe if they don't get lucky and hit #2 or #3 (Ricky Rubio and Hasheem Thabeet, although I have misgivings about both), just fuckin' trade it. Serious! This is a horrible year to have three draft picks, and it might behoove the team if they trade a couple of them to a team willing to send over a Point Guard with some experience -- maybe Philadelphia and Andre Miller? I truly think that a veteran filling the 1-spot could unlock this team's potential. What also would do it? Get a coach that doesn't mind travelling or speaking with the media.
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